Re-cycling ourselves, constructing happiness

RE-CYCLING OURSELVES....

CONSTRUCTING HAPPINESS Final Project Portfolio ARC 5401 - Architectural Design Studio Fall 2017 - 2018 Prof. Dürnev Atılgan Yağan Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi

Students: Hend Abdelrazek, hoabdelrazek@gmail.com Tamara Al-Shwimat, tamarashwimat@gmail.com

PAGE

2

TABLE OF CONTENT Project Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………….………03 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………….……..04 I. Human Perception and Behavior …………………………………………………………….………04 II. Right to the City…………………………………………………………………………………..……05 III. Right of Happiness ……………………………………………………………………………...……05 IV. Green Deficiency…………………………………………………………………………………....…06 V. Mental Health Benefits of Nature Exposure……………………………………………………....…06 VI. Site Selection ………………………..……………………………………………………….............07 VII. Design’s Objective ……………………………………………………………………………...……08 VIII. The structure …………………………………...……………………………………………...……10

1. Scaffolding ………………....……………………………………………………………….……10

2. Mirrors ……………………………………………………………………………………………12

3. Hidden greenery………………………………………..…………………………...……………13 Conclusion ………………………….…………………...………………………………………….……14 References…………………………………………………………………………………………...……17

PAGE

3

PROJECT ABSTRACT Question: How human actions can affect the structure? And how the structure affects human perception?

Nowadays, the urbanization of modern cities results in the dispossession to any right to the city. According to David Harvey (2008) citizens have “the right to change [their] selves by changing the city”. This right to the city becomes restricted to a small political and economic elite that chooses to shape the city according to their economic benefits. Additionally, today’s metropolis are suffocating its citizens due to congestion, overpopulation, urban sprawl, pollution and forest devastation. Therefore the lifestyle of citizens becomes complex and full of stress. Hence this lifestyle ignores one of the important human merits which is happiness. As specified in Arabic poetry, a famous quote states that “three things remove sadness are: brooks, meadows and lovely faces”. Thus when humans become less connected with nature, we lose an essential health buffer.

Judging from this point of view, the objective of the design is to give back the city to its citizens, allowing them to “make and remake” the structure and incorporate nature back to the city.

The suggested design will be shaped according to one’s behavior, giving more rights to the users and allowing them to see the effect of their individual actions on the built environment.

Every user receives an experience that is designed to draw out an emotional response, encouraging participation through leisure and satisfaction.

Keywords: globalization issues, right to the city, “make & remake”, right to happiness, mental health, sustainability, greenery, “brooks, meadows and lovely faces”, perception, behavior, interactivity, open space, Ortaköy, scaffolding, mirrors, hidden greenery.

PAGE

4

INTRODUCTION This project as it mentioned in the (Young Architects Program International) is an opportunity to design and present innovative projects to develop creative designs for a temporary, outdoor structure which will provide elements of shade, water, and seating that would increase the possibilities of use in open-air spaces. Providing a popular urban venue for the summer, these designs are expected to protect visitors from the heat of the city, host diverse events, and create cozy social spaces for city-dwellers―all within a modest budget and through reasonable architectural solutions. The program’s aim is to encourage architects to address environmental issues, such as sustainability, re-use, and re-cycling.

Depending on the above, the design should take into consideration several issues which we tried to apply in our design. We thought about all of these things and inspired by David Harvey’s article about the right to the city. Furthermore, when we visited the site we noticed obviously the lack of green which is one of the main problems nowadays in the global cities like Istanbul. Therefore, you feel that this main element of the ideal open space is missing. Remembering a famous Arabic quote that people have mentioned about open space which is: “three things that remove sadness: Brookes, meadows and lovely faces”. These simple yet meaningful elements we started to forget and ignore in nowadays consumption globalization world. That’s why we forget the real simple happiness and ourselves in this accelerated rhythm of our city life. We thought how we could bring back all of these things together in one design in an open space. Even if just to make the people rethink of their selves and surrounding view.

I. HUMAN PERCEPTION AND BEHAVIOR As known, the built environment affects human perception.

“Perception describes the multiple ways in which people receive information from their surroundings, allowing them to know their environment” (Gieseking, Mangold & Saegert, 2014). On the other hand “Cognition, or the way people understand the environment, occurs through immediate sensory experience coupled with memories and experiences from the past” (Gieseking, Mangold & Saegert, 2014). Specific places and moments generate particular knowledge and experiences; previous experiences shade understandings and lead people to recognize particular things or respond in specific ways.

People do not take the time to appreciate the little things of everyday life unless, for some reason, they are removed from their comfort zone, or caught by surprise with something unexpected which make them take a pause on the road. Designing something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better. Each user gets an experience that is designed to evoke an emotional response, encouraging participation through enjoyment and pleasure.

PAGE

5

According to David Harvey:

The Right to the City is not only the right to inhabit the city. It is the right to shape living environments to one's needs and wishes.

II. RIGHT TO THE CITY

III. RIGHT OF HAPPINESS

Governments nowadays tend to go towards urbanization of the vacant lands in order to absorb the surplus of capital and unemployment.

They absorb the surplus through consumerism approach. Consequently the huge expansion of modern cities gives central lands an artificial increasing value. This results in the gentrification of the central district, and therefore the displacement and the dispossession of land from the low-income segment. Urbanization results in the dispossession to any right to the city. “The freedom to make and remake our cities and ourselves is, I want to argue, one of the most precious yet most neglected of human rights”. According to David Harvey (2008) citizens have “the right to change [their] selves by changing the city”. This right to the city becomes restricted to a small political and economic elite that chooses to shape the city according to their economic benefits. Nowadays, there is a global struggle for the democratization of that right, which is losing its value over time.

Modern cities are suffocating its citizens due to congestion, overpopulation, urban sprawl, pollution and forest devastation, etc. These issues are the result of the fast globalization of the cities and the economic growth. Therefore the lifestyle of citizens become complex and full of stress. Hence this lifestyle ignores one of the important human merits which is happiness.

Consequently a profound shift in attitude is underway all over the world. People are now recognizing that progress should be about increasing human happiness and well-being, not just growing the economy. March 20 has been established as the annual international day of happiness and all 193 United Nations member states have adopted a resolution calling for happiness to be given greater priority. With regards to the importance of this right, some countries applied it in their civic convention because it’s a universal human right and goal, according to Jayme Illien (2012), the founder of happiness day. For instance in the UAE, one of the ministry’s of happiness goal is to instill a culture of happiness and positivity as a lifestyle.

PAGE

6

IV. GREEN DEFICIENCY A traditional quote states “brooks, meadows and lovely faces”. This quote is referenced in popular Arabic poetry, for example:

Three things remove sadness are brooks, meadows and lovely faces (Abu Nawasamra) Istanbul, a global metropolis, is suffering from the problems of globalization. One of the major concerns is the unrestricted economic development which has devastated the natural environment. Unfortunately the public plazas across the city lack of green spaces and the cement blocks are prevailing over greenery. The northern forests defense movement is tackling this issue with opposing parties to the new development projects (Baysal, 2015). As architects we have the responsibility to raise awareness of the citizens and associations to take initial actions.

V. MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF NATURE EXPOSURE As humans become less connected with nature, we lose an essential health buffer. “There is mounting evidence that contact with nature has significant positive impacts on mental health,” (Rodriguez, 2015). “It is associated with reduced levels of stress — which also has huge ramifications for physical health, reduced levels of depression and anxiety, increased resilience, increased social engagement”.

Referring to an experience made by Terry A. Hartig, participants who had walked in the nature preserve performed better at work than the other participants on a standard proofreading task. They also reported more positive emotions and less anger (Rodriguez, 2015). Furthermore research shows that something as small as seeing that pear tree everyday could have a real impact on our mental health.

Psychologists are exploring nature’s impact on people’s mental functioning, social relationships and even physical well-being.

Others are putting that research into practice by working with interior designers, architects and city planners to create psychologically healthy buildings and cities. Psychologists’ research explains the mental and physical restoration we get from nature and has important implications for how we build our homes, work environments and cities.

PAGE

7

VI. SITE SELECTION The choice of Ortakรถy site is based on several considerations. Firstly the district was always known as a cosmopolitan district integrating different religious monument: Ortakรถy Mosque, Aya Foka Rum Orthodox Church, Etz. Ayahim Synagogue. It also merges locals and tourists that come to enjoy the unique scenery and spirit of the district; history and modernity which is highlighted by the contrast between the mosque in the foreground and the bridge in the background. Secondly since history, Ortakรถy was an interactive cultural space due to its strategic location in the middle of the city (Orta = middle). This attractive and flexible seafront plaza accommodate different activities and events during year long. In spite of all these positive aspects, the site lacks the main element that improves well-being: green space.

PAGE

8

VII. DESIGN'S OBJECTIVE Judging from these points of view, the objective of the design is to give back the city to its citizens, allowing them to “make and remake” the structure to give them the choice in a greener space. The suggested design will be shaped according to the one’s behavior, giving more rights to the users and allowing them to see the effect of their individual actions on the built environment. The structure incorporates a dense forest of natural materials, creating a model of a devastated forest which is the result of the reckless construction activities.

Visitors are encouraged to explore the structure and are able to incorporate nature back to the city.

The hidden messages in the structure will appear to the users depending on their different interactions, some may incorporate greenery in the whole structure and others may include it in just some areas depending on their different perceptions.

People don’t have to head for the woods to enjoy nature’s restorative effects, even a glimpse of nature helps.

PAGE

9

PAGE

10

Hidden green Mirrors

VIII. THE STRUCTURE 1. Scaffolding

It consists of a temporary structure made of wooden planks and metal poles. This system offers endless possibilities for every type of design, it will include mirrors, greenery, movable benches and canopies. It is flexible, affordable and can be recycled back to the construction sites. The structure is porous and therefore doesn’t block the view of the main elements in the site. Scaffolding which is a structure related to construction activity, will be implemented in a novel way. It will be used for constructing, “remaking”, ourselves. Part of the structure is not fully constructed, referring to the side of human in development process. People like to build their selves to overcome their problems, stress, and depression. The process of rebuilding makes human more confident, it raises his self-esteem and makes him feel reborn. Each time a major shift happens in one’s life, one has to reinvent himself over and over again. People who dare to change themselves are able to pursue their passions and find a renewed zest of living.

There are three types of chairs in the structure. The first type is the fixed benches distributed in different places under the structure. The second type is the swing chairs to give a more feeling of happiness and freedom while swinging in front of the view. The third type is the removable chairs in different places that anyone could take it and sit anywhere which will give the people the ability and freedom of making decisions about where they want to sit and what to see.

Swings Mirror & Green

Stairs

Seating

PAGE

11

Unfinished Structure

Hanged Green Platform

Catwalk

PAGE

12

2. Mirrors

The design tries to cycle and recycle happiness.

It consists of mirrors / reflected glass to multiply the views of greenery, Bosporus and people in the space. Dynamics can be an opportunity for selfdiscovery. We can view every encounter as a mirror through which to discover something important about ourselves and use what we discover as valuable information in the process of arriving at a deeper self-understanding (Dern, 2015). All of our interactions can be an opportunity to see more deeply into who we are and how we operate, and on that basis we can begin to refine ourselves and thus become clearer and more appropriate in our behavior. Mirrors included in the structure will be movable according to one’s own behavior.

PAGE

13

1.

2.

Mirrors

3. Hidden greenery 3.

4.

The structure will include greenery that is trapped behind wooden blinds and people can remove them to incorporate greenery in the structure.

Mirrors will serve as an intensifier to increase the amount of greenery in the space. To create a model of a devastated forest some of the plants will be broken woods to reflect the state of green space in the city. Receiving these different messages from their surroundings, people will compose different experiences.

PAGE

14

CONCLUSION As it is shown in the design, it will express and apply a famous quote: “Three things that remove sadness: they are brookes, meadows and lovely faces”. It mainly consists of three elements: scaffolding, hidden green and mirrors.

The scaffolding is the main structure which it contains the hidden green, mirrors, seats, activities within it. Taken into consideration that this project is a temporary for summer months, we choose the scaffolding structure which could be implemented in the site and after the duration of the project it could be removed and used again in another sites or constructed projects.

When this structure will be constructed in the site it will create a strange situation for people that’s because they will wonder why such a scaffolding which is used in construction sites is now implemented in a public space like Ortaköy. It will make them curious and motivated to discover the reasons behind its existence. They will think about this structure and interact with the hidden green and moveable mirrors and chairs. This structure will be a different experience for people in Ortaköy.

The structure with all the elements will enable people to make and remake themselves by their interaction with the hidden green and the moveable mirrors. And through that, they will get the right to their city and the right of being happy.

Mirrors & Green

Hidden Green & Blinds

PAGE

15 There are symbolic ideas behind the design elements. The scaffolding is a symbol of constructing buildings in the city while in this design will express the constructing of ourselves and also its unfinished edges are expressing the incomplete part of ourselves. In addition, this scaffolding will hide the greenery which could mean that the constructions in our city are imprisoning and hiding the green. This green will not be saved and back until the people will interact and uncover the blinds to show the plants. When people interact and take an action toward their city by uncovering the hidden green they will bring back the green to city. Furthermore, the moveable mirrors is used for multiply and intensify the view of Bosporus (Brookes) or the green (Meadows) or the people (lovely faces) depending on people’s actions. The brookes will be multiplied by its reflection in the mirrors and it can be seen from different levels in the scaffolding especially the roof. The meadows will be multiplied by the mirrors and also by people’s action to uncover the green blinds. In addition, there will be a hanging garden on the second level in the scaffolding they can enjoy it from the ground or by passing while going up to the roof.

The lovely faces they are the faces of people and other creations around the site like: cats, dogs, birds. They will all gather and enjoy the seating and shading under the scaffolding. The lovely faces will express their feelings by uncovering the green or leave it as it is and by looking at their selves in the mirrors. After having all these elements in the site of course everyone will be happy. The design is trying to recycle happiness.

PAGE

16 It could be thought that the design is have a lack of green. However, the green is intended to be hidden and it’s not the main only element in the project. It is just one of the elements that all together express the whole concept of the project. Not the aim of this structure is to bring back the greenery to the OrtakÜy or to make it as a green garden, but to make the people rethink of this greenery and of their selves with multiplying the main elements of view which will bring happiness at the end. The choice of steel scaffolding and no other type of scaffolding, i.e. bamboo, is due to its availability in Istanbul and its cost effectiveness.

Suggestions could be applied to the structure, it could have less frames and be less intense so it does not look so crowded. We could increase scaffolding frames or decrease them as it needs. In addition, this structure could be implemented in different sites such as KarakĂśy and Istanbul Modern. Also, we thought about adding the famous Arabic quote that we used it as Calligraphy in the structure that will give the shadow for the letters on the ground and to make the letters illuminate at night.

This structure could contain many activities within it. For example: workshops about recycling, planting, drawings, re-using materials, etc. and cognitive game like puzzles, lego and climbing. In addition, it could host talks, short movies, and silent theatre. People could plant different type of flowers and plants to participate in their right to the city.

Hanged Green

Unfinished Structure

PAGE

17

REFERENCES 140journos. (2017, August 08). Istanbul’unbedeli: bölüm 1 - beyazyakalı. Retrieved November 12, 2017, from https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=xo7DVKEW5Kk Baysal, C. (2015). Istanbul urban research blog. Retrieved October 24, 2017, from http://istanbul-urban-research.blogspot.com. tr/2015/06/new-report-out-now-third-airport-will.html?m=1 Clay, R. (2011, April). Green is good for you. Retrieved November 07, 2017, from http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr01/greengood. aspx David Harvey: The Right to the City. New Left Review 53, September-October 2008. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https:// newleftreview.org/II/53/david-harvey-the-right-to-the- city Dern, N. (2015, September 03). The Mirror: A Reflection of Self. Retrieved November 12, 2017, from https://www.huffingtonpost. com/natasha-dern/the-mirror-a-reflection-o_b_8084026.html Gieseking, J. J., Mangold, W., Katz, C., Low, S., & Saegert, S. (Eds.). (2014). Section 2: Human Perception and Environmental Experience. Retrieved November 07, 2017, from http://peopleplacespace.org/toc/section-2/ Istanbul Modern. (2013). YAP Istanbul Modern: Young Architects Program. Retrieved November 07, 2017, from http://www. istanbulmodern.org/en/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/yap-istanbulmodern-young-architects-program_992.html Jayme Illien. (2012). The International Day of Happiness. Retrieved November 12, 2017, from http://www.happinessday.org/ Manzo, A. (2010). The fun theory… changing human behavior [Review]. Retrieved November 7, 2017, from http://stichtingconstant. nl/system/files/20101013_the_fun_theory.-blog.pdf Ministry of hapiness UAE. (n.d.). Discover why. Retrieved November 7, 2017, from https://www.happy.ae/en/discover-why Moma. (2012). Young Architects Program (YAP). Retrieved November 07, 2017, from http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/ yap/ Rodriguez, T. (2015, October 20). The Mental Health Benefits of Nature Exposure. Retrieved November 07, 2017, from http://www. psychiatryadvisor.com/mood-disorders/nature-cognitive-anxiety-depression-mood/article/448018/

RE-CYCLING OURSELVES...

CONSTRUCTING HAPPINESS